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O for a few white flakes of powdery snow!
Imtiyaz
Bakhshi
"Sheen
peto peto, Maame yito yito (Come snow, come uncle),"
Kashmiris raise their hands in solemn prayers for snowfall.
For, snow in Kashmir not only kills diseases and the chill
of Chillai-Kalan, it also re-enacts many a culture
and tradition connected with Valley's first brush with white
powdery flakes from the heavens.
Kashmir's
winter is divided into three phases in the order of decreasing
intensity of cold. The 40-day long and most feared Chillai
Kalan; next ten days of milder Chilla Budha; followed
by two weeks of chilly but tolerable surface winds - Chilla
Buchha.
December
21, the day marking the entry of Chillai Kalan ushers
in typical Kashmiri traditions to greet the first flakes of
snow from the sky. Like elsewhere in the world, the first
snowfall has its own charm for the Kashmiris. It is a day
when you wake up to a world entirely different from the one
you had closed eyes upon when you hit the bed. Mountains,
lawns, roads, tree-tops, electric poles and wires, house roofs
and everything else under the sky turns white.
First
greetings
As
a tradition, first to acknowledge the white blanket from the
heavens are the children who have spent several sleepless
nights in expectation of the first snowflakes. Unmindful of
catching cold, the tiny bundles of limitless energy venture
out of their homes to collect the soft white powder. They
eat it and carry handfuls for parents and older siblings.
The idea is to jerk the "lazybones" out of their
sleep by thrusting snow into their palms. For this cute little
trick of theirs, they are rewarded with some money to buy
candies. An older sister or brother too isn't spared.
Sheene
Jung
The
temptation of running on the soft white blanket outside and
the fun and frolic associated with it is too much to care
for the warnings from the parents. These innocent kids group
in teams for snow battle Sheene Jung and are ready
to throw snowflakes at each other. There are no rules in this
game. While the back, chest and limbs are at the receiving
end, the head and face form the favourite spots for target-practising.
Their shouts and playful screams attract the older siblings
who act as scorers, counting by hits scored. Snowflakes raining
in from all directions. Bigger the better.
Sheene
Insaan
Tired
of Sheene Jung? Over to Sheene Insaan or making
of `snowman'. It follows the concept of a pyramid: broad base
that tapers upwards. No rival teams, please. A Perfect snowman
can only be achieved through perfect teamwork. Young scientists
are at work as little artistic hands gather flakes and roll
them to bind more and more snow (law of cohesion) until a
huge round flattened base is formed. Few more rollings, each
smaller in girth than the previous one, to make up the torso,
chest and neck. Deft fingers create muscles and other body
contours. The neck is cylindrical and may be draped in a muffler
or scarf, as desired. The head: a huge snowball, perfectly
rounded, placed on the neck, taking care that the neck part
bears the brainy weight.
It
is left to little girls to complete the facial make-up: lipstick
on lips, marbles for eyes, elongated wood charcoal picked
direct from the Kashmiri earthen firepot or Kangri
as Snowman's nose, mascara for eyebrows and eyelashes. Two
little snowflakes serve as the sharpest ears while an overcoat,
an English Flut hat and smoking pipe would easily make him
world's ``Most Well Dressed Man''. Raymond's Complete Man
since 1925 be better on guard. As fingers go numb in the freezing
cold, the master craftsmen take turns on `Kangri' to bring
the frozen blood of fingers back to boil.
Around
the Snowman kids get busy scribbling messages on the snow
blanket. "We love you Dad'', "Darling Mom'', "Barbie
My Doll'' and "Gudda-Guddi''. Lens-clicking would do
perfect justice to this idea of fun and frolic on season's
first snowfall. Some little inventors even put bowls of sweetened
milk and cream underneath the snow in the expectation of enjoying
a delicious ice-cream later. The experiment often fails, more
so if the white blanket fails to stay longer on ground.
And
what if snow stays and sun shines bright the next day. It
is a day full of cheering and hooting the slipping giants.
The bigger you are, the bigger you fall. Snow turns solid
ice and one gets to witness acrobatics of Captain Haddocks,
Snowies and Thomsons as they slip and fall with a thud.
But
alas, gone are the days when the Valley would receive heavy
snow. Who is to blame? Global warming apart, Kashmiris themselves.
Rampant clearing of forests and unchecked felling of trees
has robbed `Winter in Kashmir' of its quota of snowy charm.
(Expressindia
welcomes suggestion and feedback from its readers on its endeavour
to reconstruct the fading charm of the Valley and to present
before them a slice of Kashmiri life beyond the booming guns.)
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